Project week

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg CAS, Uncategorized , , 0 Comment

Project week was a great experience, it was my first time planning a week long trip with no supervision. My group and I travelled to Tioman Island located off the coast of eastern Malaysia. On Tioman Island, my group and I took our advanced open water diving course. This course spanned the duration of two days, on the other days where we weren’t doing anything, our group participated in the ‘Project Aware’ speciality courses. During these courses, we learned more about the aquatic life underwater and how we can protect it. On one of the ‘Project Aware’ courses, we cleaned up the Crown Of Thorns which look like starfish and eat the coral. They leave a white trail of coral which basically means that section of the coral was dead.

On the trip, I didn’t really learn more about myself, but about those around me. During the planning stages, our group encountered an issue with one of the group members not paying his side of the project week. This annoyed one of our group members, but eventually, he tried to let it go. After that, the same group member forgot his passport when we had already boarded the bus. Also, he almost left his passport on the ferry, luckily, one of our group members saw and reminded him. I learned that there are people out there who don’t have much experience with independence and travelling on their own, because if that person did, then he wouldn’t have forgotten something as crucial as their passports.

The two aspects of CAS that we chose to focus on was Activity and Service. For service, as mentioned before, we completed a specialist course where we learnt about the crown of thorns which eat coral and how to get rid of them. For service, we also completed a beach clean up. For Activity, we completed our Advanced Open Water diving course.

Overall, the main challenge that we faced as a group would be planning the trip. To overcome this and to make sure that everything went smoothly. As a group, the four of us had to maintain constant communication with each other as well as the organisation that we were planning to do the diving with. With our strong communication as a group, we managed to plan for all situations and were constantly helping each other as well as giving out reminders about important things.

In the end, Project week was a wonderful experience even though there were ups and downs along the way.

Reflective Conversation 1

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg EE 1 Comment

Since the start of the process of writing the EE, I can say that I have gone through a lot of learning and my idea on the whole topic has definitely changed. My original idea for a Geography and Economics world studies essay was “If the world became 100% renewable, how would the local economy here in Singapore be affected”. I chose this topic because I have always felt that renewables are the key to the future of the human race. I discussed this topic with my supervisor and after that meeting, I realized how broad this topic was and decided that I wanted to focus on renewable transportation. So I went and did some more research, and found out that a company known as “Blue SG” have created electric cars that people can rent. These cars use a similar system to Obike and OFO. So now, my essay is revolved around the idea of how practical this system would be for Singapore.

 

EE Day Exit ticket

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One thing that I have learned:

Something that I learned today, would be during the session with Ms. Grigsby in the library. Before, I wasn’t sure how to get information from reliable sources. However, I was introduced to the website “find.uwcsea.edu.sg” which is a database in beta with a vast collection of information from reliable sources collected over several years. Something that makes information unreliable would be coming from an unreliable source e.g from twitter or facebook. Reliable information is peer-reviewed which means that the information given is checked by people that work in the relevant area.

 

What I am proud of:

Something that I am proud of, would be the fact that the research that I had gathered today was all from reliable sources. I feel like the information that I got is more trustworthy. Although, I feel that my original source (blue SG website) is just as reliable.

 

What I’ll be doing next:

I want to start writing my EE essay. I am planning on writing everything bit by bit (maybe every weekend). By doing this I should be able to complete my EE in a few weeks.

My Experience at the Carnival (MWC) and HOME.

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg CAS, Healthserve Migrant Brothers , 0 Comment

Today, I went to the Carnival, I didn’t manage to find a way in, however, the experience of going to the location was really impactful. The dormitory is located at 34 Mandai Estate, when I was traveling there, I was trying to imagine what the dormitory looked like. I thought that the complex would be open, have some shops nearby and relatively close to places where other Singaporeans live e.g HDBs. However, my idea was so wrong. When I got there, the everything was enclosed in metal fencing, the courtyard where the migrant brothers worked was also enclosed in a metal fence. The quality of the football goals and basketball hoops weren’t very good either. As I circled the complex, I could see that security was of importance there, people needed passes to get in, women could only enter on specific days and times. I also could also get a glimpse of the rooms that the workers stayed in by looking through the windows. It seems that the accommodation is very small and many workers have to squeeze in there. A lot of the workers were participating in the carnival, others were in their rooms and others were sitting around conversing with one another. To me, I felt like the dorms were just a large jail cell.

 

This brings me to my main take away from home. At HOME, something that stuck and resonated with me would be “What is considered adequate living conditions?”. Would providing a shelter be considered adequate living conditions?. Since the SG Government hasn’t explicitly stated what each contractor has to provide to the workers, they can just use their best guess and decide how much they want to give to their workers.

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Uncategorized 0 Comment

Which mentor text (from slide 3) will you use as your model? How will you ‘steal’ from it? (hyperlink that text in)

I think that I will use the ted sketch note. Something that I will ‘steal’ from it would be the design, the minimal text design is what appealed to me.

 

Will your final post be built collaboratively? (If yes, indicate specific responsibilities and timeline)

Yes, I think that I’ll be in charge of editing/compiling the whole thing since I am media coordinator. My other group members will be responsible for reviewing the final product. I think Shreyans will be looking after the service aspect, and Arnav will gather all the media on the activities as the logistics coordinator.

Which future-ready skills will you use during Project week, and how can you capture them in action for your post?

I think that coordinating with others will be a very important skill during project week, as coordinating is very key when we do the activity (diving). If we don’t coordinate with all the parties involved, then accidents will occur.

 

What do you need to document during the week? Be Specific, create a checklist for you to refer back to. (ex: who will it be important to interview, which questions will you ask?)

Somethings that I think that we need to document would be things that we did, how we feel, what went through our mind and maybe what challenges we faced. This will be key because it will help us to reflect easier since we will most likely forget some things.

 

How can you balance what the service provider AND future grade 11s might want to see in your final reflection? At this moment in time, I’m not sure how I can balance what the service provider and future grade 11s see in my reflection.

 

How might you use the tool linkedin for your reference on the slide 5?

I don’t have Linkedin, so I’m not sure how I’m going to use it.

Media Workshop Project Week

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Uncategorized 0 Comment

2 things to remember:

  • Follow the ‘Rule Of Thirds’ (Grid layout found in the camera app on the phone)
    • Put your subject on the points where the vertical and horizontal lines meet
  • Simplistic photos are good as it allows the audience to focus on the subject

Level Up:

  • Organise our media in terms of subject/type
    • Organising based on person e.g Arnav, Shreyans, Nikhil
    • Organising based on subject e.g land, sea

Healthserve/MWC

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg CAS, Healthserve Migrant Brothers 0 Comment

We are coming to the end of season 2 and I feel like I have grown a lot in this service. The reason why I joined this service was that I thought this service was all about playing games and doing activities with the migrant workers. However, after doing all of this research, learning more about the migrant worker’s stories and basically broadening my understanding of the issue at hand, it is evident that my idea of this service was far from the truth/reality of the situation. I thought that I could do what I want and play games/do activities that I wanted to do. However now my idea of this service has shifted, I am now more passionate about the issue and I know that this service isn’t about what I want, but what the migrant workers want/need. Instead of being the type of person who’s voice overpowers the voices of the migrant workers, I have learned that in order for myself to have a better experience, I need to listen to them.

Email drafts of us communicating with the organisation:

Are you Neo Malthusian or Anti Malthusian?

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Uncategorized 1 Comment

I would describe my views as more akin to Anti-Malthusians.

 

Neo Malthusian and Anti Malthusian derive from Malthus’s theory about overpopulation. His theory on overpopulation is that population tends to increase at a faster rate than its means of subsistence and that unless it is checked by moral restraint or disaster (such as disease, famine, or war) widespread poverty and degradation inevitably result. The definition of over population is, “The excessive population of an area to the point of overcrowding, depletion of natural resources, or environmental deterioration.”

 

Some justifications that prove that our world isn’t “Overpopulated” is that no matter what, we as a species will find a way to solve any resource problems. In the definition of overpopulation above, it states the “depletion of natural resources, or environmental deterioration”, so as long as we don’t accomplish this, we won’t be overpopulated. The green revolution was a solution that helped steer us away from being overpopulated. The Green Revolution was an R&D movement that revolutionised the way we farmed by implementing technology as it provided us with an abundance of food resources. This helped eradicate food shortage in a lot of places. Not only that but the development of GMOs has also helped us grow crops in many different harsh conditions that people wouldn’t have dreamed possible. Subsequently, I believe that if we do run out of one resource e.g fossil fuels, then we would shift our attention to an alternate source e.g renewables.

 

The reason why Malthus’s theory doesn’t apply to present times is that he didn’t take human development into account, he probably believed that we wouldn’t develop such tools to aid us with the collection of resources. This is the flaw in his theory, with all the information that we currently have, it is clear to say that the development of technology has been beneficial in being able to provide us with the resources that we need.

 

A current example showing the humans ability to adapt would be “Global Warming”, since the industrial revolution, fossil fuels have become a huge part of our lives. Fossil fuels help make our lives easier e.g powering cars, generating electricity and others. However, the excessive use of this carbon emitting good has left a mark on our planet. Evidence of this is shown through the hole in our ozone, the melting of ice caps the raised sea levels etc. Mankind has recognised this and governments have taken action by reducing carbon emissions in each country. An example of the action that has been taken would be the Paris agreement. Now, how does this link to Anti-Malthusian beliefs? Well, it proves my point that humans have the ability to adapt to situations and won’t let our world resources completely be depleted.

 

In conclusion, I believe that so long as mankind makes the right decisions and makes sure to constantly develop new technology or alternate resource strategies in order to prevent the current resources from becoming completely used up, then I believe that our earth is not overpopulated and my ideas will still align with Anti-Malthusian ideology.

How do you intend to reduce your individual ecological footprint?

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg Uncategorized 1 Comment

Being brought up in a first world country has allowed me to have easy access to necessities. However with this, I actually consume a lot of different types of food per day and use a lot electricity thus leading to me having a large ecological footprint. A lot of the aspects that contribute to my large ecological footprint are things that I take for granted such as air conditioning, cars and meats. Using a website, I have calculated that if everyone on this planet lived like me, then we would consume all of the worlds resources by February 2018.

Some ways that I can reduce my ecological footprint would be to consume less meat based products, take shorter showers, use public transport, reduce usage of air conditioning and turn of plugs that I have finished using. Out of all of these goals, I can say that I have accomplished three of them (reduce usage of air conditioning, take shorter showers, use public transport). For me, I normally use fan’s during the day and I only turn the Air Conditioning on when I’m about to go to bed. I also try to take as little time as possible to shower (5-7 minutes). Finally, I take public transport is my most commonly used mode of transport, when I go out with friends or come home from school, I take the MRT or bus.

However, I do consume a lot of meat, especially beef and cows are one of the largest contributors to the ecological footprint. Cows require large amounts of land to eat, not only that but they release large amounts of methane which then contributes to a large carbon footprint. I should be more aware of the things that I eat. Finally, I need to try to reduce wastage of electricity as I sometimes leave plugs on overnight or charge my electronic devices overnight. This wastes a lot of electricity which then leads to more electricity that needs to be produced which then causes more carbon emissions thus leading to a huge impact on our planet.

Rock Climbing Advanced

tsao11405@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg CAS, Rock Climbing Advanced , 0 Comment

Rock Climbing is an activity that I really enjoy as it allows me to challenge myself as well as work with my peers. In this activity, I have to collaborate with my friends, the way that I do this would be when we top-rope climb and boulder. The importance of collaboration during a top-rope climb would be that we need to constantly communicate with one another to ensure the safety of both the climber and the belayer. Not only that but the belayer can help to look for holds, grips or volumes that are available for the climber to use that he/she may not be able to see. It is similar for bouldering too, even though for bouldering, you are really near to the ground, it is still important to keep communication with your peer as he/she can help you by telling you what holds you have available as well as how you might be able to tackle an area that you are struggling with.

Collaborating with my peers made climbing a lot easier as well as enjoyable. Being able to work with your friends and challenge each other is what gives me the motivation to challenge myself on harder climbing routes. Along the way, there have been many challenges, challenges for people are different e.g the hardest one for me would be finding the stamina to continue doing different boulder climbs. Bouldering requires a lot of skill and management of your center of gravity to help you use less energy while you climb. Normally after completing 3 different routes, I can clearly feel that a lot of my energy had been drained. So something that I need to work on would be by building up stamina and managing my energy use more effectively.

Climbing certification that I got outside of school:

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